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Two of the world’s five largest coal mines now in India


Chhattisgarh-based Coal India subsidiary South Eastern Coalfields Limited’s Gevra and Kusmunda coal mines have secured the 2nd and 4th spot in the list of the world’s 10 largest coal mines released by WorldAtlas.com.

Located in the Korba district of Chhattisgarh state, these two mines produce more than 100 million tons of coal annually accounting for about 10 per cent of India’s total coal production.

Read in Hindi: दुनिया की पांच सबसे बड़ी कोयला खानों में से दो भारत में

The Gevra opencast mine has an annual production capacity of 70 million tons and produced 59 million tons of coal in FY 23-24. The mine started operations in the year 1981 and it has enough coal reserves to meet the country’s energy requirements for the next 10 years.

Kusmunda OC mine produced more than 50 million tons of coal in FY 23-24, only the second mine in India after Gevra to achieve this feat.

These mines have deployed some of the world’s largest and most advanced mining machines such as the ‘Surface Miner’ that extracts and cuts coal without blasting for eco-friendly mining operations.

For overburden removal, the mines use some of the world’s largest Heavy Earth Moving Machinery, such as 240-ton dumpers, 42 cubic meters Shovel along with Vertical Rippers for environment-friendly and blast-free OB removal.